New anti-terror measures

Australian Security Intelligence Organisation boss David Irvine will on Wednesday hit back at suggestions that Muslim leaders are not doing enough to counter extremism in their communities, saying they should be thanked rather than criticised.

In a speech to the National Press Club in Canberra, Mr Irvine will also step up his campaign for Australians to get behind new security laws, saying that the threats of both terrorism and espionage, while serious, are manageable if agencies have the necessary powers.

The ASIO director-general of security will argue the current system of checks and balances of intelligence and security powers does not need any serious overhaul – effectively rejecting suggestions that agencies should be forced to get warrants to access communications “metadata”.

Director-General of Security: David Irvine addresses the media during a press conference at Parliament House.

Fairfax Media understands Mr Irvine will reject criticism of Muslim leaders. In Tuesday's party room meeting, some Coalition MPs said Prime Minister Tony Abbott should not be reaching out to certain Muslim groups, as he has done in recent weeks.

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“The security environment today is becoming more complex since I was appointed as director-general of security in 2009, in part due to the march of technology and in part because of changes in the nature of the threats we face,” Mr Irvine will say.

“In the past two years, however, the situation in Syria and now Iraq has radically complicated the threat, adding energy and allure to the extremist Islamic narrative. The draw of foreign fighters to Syria and Iraq is significant and includes more Australians than all other previous extremist conflicts put together. The number of Australians of potential security concern to ASIO has increased substantially.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop said Arab countries as well as the West needed to stop the spread of extremist groups such as Islamic State. She will take the issue of foreign fighters to the United Nations.

Ms Bishop spoke with US Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday morning and said afterwards that Australia was ready to continue helping Washington in Iraq.

"The United States has been taking a leadership role . . . in Iraq," Ms Bishop said. "We've been working closely with them to prevent the humanitarian crisis and Australia stands ready to continue to help avert a humanitarian crisis in northern Iraq.

"It's a matter for countries around the world, not just the United States, not just Australia but Arab states as well, to take action to prevent this kind of terrorism from spreading."

Ms Bishop said she and Mr Kerry discussed their joint plan, announced recently after the AUSMIN (Australia-United States Ministerial Consultation) meeting in Sydney, to take the problem of foreign fighters with extremist groups to the UN General Assembly leaders' meeting next month.

While much attention has focused on Westerners – including dozens of Australians – joining groups such as Islamic State, there is also increasing pressure on Iraq and Syria's neighbours to stem the flow of money and fighters from within their borders to the conflict zones. Saudi Arabia hosted a crisis meeting at the weekend to discuss the problem with Egypt, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Ms Bishop's comments came as the Abbott government announced it was spending $64 million to stop radicalisation of Australians at home. The money will come from the $630 million counterterrorism boost the government has already announced.

Attorney-General George Brandis said the threat of extremists coming back from the Middle East was the "greatest national security threat that Australia has faced in many years".

"The escalating terrorist situation in Iraq and Syria poses an increasing threat, unlike any other that this country has experienced, to the security of Australians both at home and overseas," he said.

Australia has so far contributed humanitarian air drops to refugees in Iraq fleeing the onslaught of Islamic State fighters. The federal government is considering more substantial military involvement, but that would depend on Washington deciding to get more involved.